


Tony's Captain

by mortenavida



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Comfort, Gen, No Winter Soldier, Not Beta Read, Pre-Avengers (2012), Shapeshifting, Tony Stark-centric, veterinarian tony stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:50:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21990757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mortenavida/pseuds/mortenavida
Summary: When Tony was ten, he and Jarvis found a three-legged mutt being tormented in an alley. Hiding it from his father was easy, hiding the fact that he still had the same dog at the age of 42 was harder. It's not until Steve comes out of the ice and recognizes the dog that things make sense.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Tony Stark
Comments: 6
Kudos: 168





	Tony's Captain

**Author's Note:**

> Had an idea and need to get back into writing, so I wrote it! Just a little comfort piece, not meant to be pre-slash or anything. Didn't mean to make Steve rude, but Tony didn't want to deal with him, soooo. Enjoy!

Tony had been walking through the streets of New York, Jarvis by his side, when he first heard the cry. He stopped, tugging on Jarvis’ hand to get the older man to stop, and stared down the alleyway. Shadows made it hard to see, but then Tony heard it: a sharp laugh another cry of pain. He looked up at Jarvis and the man simply smiled before handing Tony the pastries they picked up and heading into the darkness.

It felt like some kind of movie, stepping around a dumpster to see two kids poking at a tied-up mutt. The grungy blackness of the dog’s fur hid the fact that he only had three legs at first look, but Tony’s anger only grew when he realized that the boys had probably picked this stray just because of the missing limb. It was an easier target.

“Boys,” Jarvis said, standing tall with his arms crossed. “Care to explain yourselves?”

The two kids looked between themselves and Jarvis before the bigger one shrugged and threw down the stick in his hands. “No. We were just--”

“Leaving, I’m sure.” Jarvis stepped aside to let them get out of the way. “Perhaps to go home to your parents.”

The older one scoffed and took the younger boy’s hand, tugging him past both Jarvis and Tony. “Stupid old man,” he muttered, pushing a bit at Tony’s shoulder as he passed. “Better watch yourself.”

Tony paid them no mind, too focused on the dog leaning against the wall. It wasn’t shaking -- just eyeing Tony with scared eyes. Jarvis warned him to be careful, but Tony already knew that. This wasn’t the first animal they had come across in their walks, but this was the first one that Tony actually wanted to do something more for.

“There’s a place closeby, I think,” Jarvis said, kneeling next to Tony. “How about we take him there before we head home?”

“Do we have to?” Tony asked, reaching a hand out toward the mutt’s sniffing nose. “He needs a bath.”

“He does, but--”

“Jarvis?” Tony smiled softly as the dog gently bumped his head against the outstretched hand. “This one is different.”

“Your father won’t allow it.”

Tony got on his knees, not caring about the dirt that smudged into his pants, and grinned as the dog leaned in to lick his face. “He won’t notice.”

Jarvis hesitated, then nodded as he stood. “No, I don’t think he will.”

Until Tony moved out and Howard visited his college apartment for the first time, they were right. Neither Howard nor Maria ever noticed that Tony had a three-legged dog hidden in the mansion.

\-----

Tony didn’t realize that something was  _ off _ about Captain until Rhodey came over one Christmas and asked him how old the dog was. At twenty-five, Tony had to think hard about it before realizing that he actually didn’t know. Captain hadn’t grown any bigger since Tony first got him, but he also wasn’t showing any of the typical signs of aging. The black fur was still sleek with no hints of grey, and the lack of a front leg never seemed to slow him down.

Captain hadn’t taken his eyes off of Tony as soon as the question was asked, but his body was tense as if waiting for something. The mutt had always been able to read Tony more so than any other animal Tony came across and this time wasn’t any different. As soon as Tony stood, Captain bounced to his feet and lead the two friends to the second bedroom where Tony had set up a small lab.

“Guess he doesn’t mind you tinkering on him,” Rhodey said as Captain hopped up onto the low table, tail wagging.

“I’ve been playing with the idea of making him a leg. He sits for it, but never actually wants to wear one.” Tony scratched Captain behind one of his floppy ears before leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead. “He trusts me.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Rhodey took a seat, smiling as he watched them. “This AI you built... it can tell us Captain’s age?”

“We’ll see. J.A.R.V.I.S. is still learning. I’m thinking of installing him in the rest of the apartment soon.”

“I’m surprised your dad hasn’t tried to steal him.”

Tony snorted, taking a seat himself and sliding up to his computer. “Who says he hasn’t?”

Edwin Jarvis had died a few years ago, inspiring the name of the AI system Tony was tinkering with at the time. Just A Rather Very Intelligent System was a mouthful, he claimed, so J.A.R.V.I.S. it was. Everyone had seen through his explanation, but Tony didn’t care. He knew the real Jarvis would be proud to have something Tony built named after him, especially since Tony hadn’t gone into the “family business.” 

Having Captain made Tony realize just how many injured and abused animals were in the world. He had gone to MIT as his father wanted and got an engineering degree, but he didn’t stay for anything past that. Currently, he was in the last semester of his Master’s program to become a veterinarian. The apartment he purchased was situated above a run-down ceramics shop and the woman who owned it planned on selling it to Tony as soon as he was ready to open his own practice.

Howard Stark was not pleased, especially because Tony seemed to  _ still _ be able to run circles around him when it came to designing new things. Tony’s thesis was about better prosthetics as well as the effect they have on the psyche of the animal. Captain was helpful in the first part, but something about him made the second harder, so Tony had gone with local volunteers.

“Hey, Jay, you with me?” Tony asked, poking at his mouse to wake up his system.

A few lights blinked before a screen flickered on and a voice came from the speakers. “ _ For you, sir? Always. _ ”

“That’s going to creep me out when he’s in the entire apartment,” Rhodey said.

Tony just shrugged and typed in a few things. “Let’s find out your age, O’Capitaine.”

Captain let out a small  _ wuff _ and wagged his tail as the computer worked. While J.A.R.V.I.S. was still in his baby phase, as Tony put it, he was still more advanced than normal computers out there. He scanned over the dog, immediately bringing up heart rate and other results in front of Tony. Captain didn’t even make a fuss when Tony leaned over to get a blood sample; he simply sat back on his haunches and held out his right paw.

“Good boy,” Tony praised, pressing another kiss to Captain’s forehead. “What a  _ good _ dog. You can get down now, let Rhodey give you a treat.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes but leaned back to grab one of the many scattered jerky treats Tony had around the house. They weren’t dog treats -- Captain never seemed to want to eat anything but people food and Tony spoiled him so much that Captain even ate at the table every night.

Captain had rolled over for belly scratches when the computer beeped a response. Tony frowned, looked over to Captain, then back at the screen. “This has to be wrong.”

“How so?”

“ _ Captain appears to be over sixty years old _ ,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said. “ _ It is unusual for a mixed breed to live over fourteen _ .”

Captain barked and wagged his tail, which only caused his entire body to wiggle as he was still on his back. Tony watched the intelligent dog for a moment before he shrugged and shut down his systems.

“Does it matter? I’ll run more tests with J.A.R.V.I.S. later to make sure he isn’t off, but if he’s right?” He leaned over, playfully bapping at Captain’s paw. “Just means I have a pretty awesome dog.”

Rhodey didn’t say a word and Tony knew it was because he wouldn’t like what his friend would have to say. There was definitely something off about Captain, but Tony didn’t care. It was his dog.

Years later, Captain still never seemed to age. Tony liked it that way.

\-----

Howard Stark died when Tony was thirty-five. Alcohol was a contributing factor, but so was the staircase he had tripped on and tumbled down. Despite their many fights, Howard had never changed the terms of his will, so the entirety of the company fell into Tony’s hands. Stane, Howard’s business partner, tried to take Tony to court, but nothing came of it. Tony never trusted the man.

Still, he had no idea what to do with the multi-billion dollar company. There was a board to appease and thousands of jobs he was now responsible for. However, after meeting with the board and watching his father’s assistant in action, he knew exactly what to do. He had known Pepper briefly when she came in to check on him -- they knew Howard wanted her to report back on Tony’s newest inventions, so they kept to the front of the veterinary lobby every time.

Watching her rip apart a few of the board members for even suggesting that they sell the Stark Mansion and thus putting Maria out of a home? Priceless. Tony offered her the job of CEO almost immediately after he realized just how well she knew the company and made her promise one thing: no more weapons contracts. There was more money in health than death, after all, and she agreed.

The prosthetic line Tony had perfected grew from just animals to humans as well. He left the vet office in the hands of others, checking in when he could, and then spent the rest of his time in Stark Industries R&D lab. Those already working there welcomed him with open arms as he and Pepper took the company in a new direction.

If any of them noticed anything off about Captain over the years as the dog followed him around, they said nothing.

\-----

At forty-two, Tony learned the truth.

\-----

Saturdays were Tony’s pre-designated days he spent at the clinic. Since more people had weekends off, he kept the practice open and took on the extra hours himself, welcoming any animal whether they had an appointment or not. If none of the receptionists could work, he usually had Captain settled behind the counter and he would bark at Tony’s door when someone new came in. People were used to it by now and always spoke to Captain as if he were the receptionist; Tony loved it.

On this particular Saturday, Bernice sat behind the front counter with Captain curled by her feet. They weren’t as busy as normal so Tony didn’t have any more than the dog he currently has in the examination room to look at. Poor Tucker ate another shoe.

“We can house him here again,” he told Mrs. Shelly, a nice woman who always brought him a tin of cookies when she came to pick up Tucker from an eating incident. “Don’t worry about the cost this time. I think a fifth visit means he gets a free one.”

Mrs. Shelly let out a breath, shoulders relaxing. “Oh, I couldn’t ask that you do that, Dr. Stark, honestly...”

“I insist.” Tony ruffled the beagle’s ears. “Besides, Tucker is always a good boy while he’s here. He can keep Captain company.”

Mrs. Shelly smiled before saying her goodbyes to Tucker. Tony waited for her to leave the room before gently picking up the wiggling dog and carrying him to their kennel area.

“I should make you a permanent room,” Tony teased him, settling Tucker down into an empty cage. “Wait here while I get you some water.”

Tony shut the cage door and went about getting the dog set up. Normal kennels were devoid of anything but the necessities, but Tony didn’t believe in that. While they couldn’t have a nice yard run, he made sure that there was still a bit of grass at the end of the over-sized kennels and a nice bed for the dogs to snuggle up in. It meant laundry was a bitch, but he would rather have to wash fifty beds than to make the dogs uncomfortable.

Captain nosed his way in while Tony finished settling Tucker and the dog gave out a soft whine, poking his nose at the cage door. “This is a lesson in not eating shoes,” Tony told them both. “Anyone else out there, Captain?”

Captain barked once and settled himself in front of Tucker’s cage. Tony shrugged and washed his hands before going back into the almost-empty lobby area. A man stood by the windows, arms behind his back in military parade rest. Tony arched an eyebrow at Bernice, who shrugged and went back to her data entry. Since the man didn’t have a dog with him, Tony assumed he had to be here on Stark Industries business.

“Can I help you?” he asked, moving around the counter.

The man turned, his blue eyes looking over Tony before offering him a hesitant smile. “Anthony Stark?”

“Depends on what you’re here for.”

The man held a hand out toward Tony. “Sorry, yes. I knew your father.”

Of course he did. Tony took the hand. “In what way?”

“My name is Steve Rogers,” he said, letting his hand drop. “Your father helped make me who I am and when I found out he had a son, I wanted to come see you. Introduce myself.”

Steve Rogers.  _ The _ Steve Rogers? “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

“So I’m told, but the ice... Is this a bad time?”

“No, of course not.” Tony turned to Bernice. “Let me know if someone else comes in. I’m taking Mr. Rogers here to my office.”

“Behave,” she teased, giving Steve a wink.

The blush that stole across Steve’s face made Tony snort out a laugh before he led the way through the clinic and to his office. Steve looked around before taking a seat, stiff and formal in the chair. Tony simply flopped down on his own, trying to seem more relaxed than he felt.

This was his childhood hero and he could tell that it wasn’t some look alike. Howard had plenty of images and newsreels around the house for Tony not to recognize the real thing. Suddenly, the idea of his dog being named ‘Captain’ didn’t appeal as much as it had thirty-two years ago.

“Who found you?”

“A security agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. did. I’m not sure if I  _ should _ be telling you that, but they never said I couldn’t tell the son of the man who helped found it.” Steve shrugged. “I’ve been awake for a week now and needed to get out, so I came here first.”

“To see me?”

Steve nodded. “This might sound strange, but you’re the closest connection I have to my past right now. Everyone else is...”

Tony winced and leaned forward. “Hey, it’s fine, I get it. I’m not like the old man, though, so I hope you didn’t expect that.”

“Not at all, I just...”

Steve trailed off as the door was nosed open and Captain came in. He whined at Tony, pawing at him before racing back out the door. Tony held up a finger to Steve, wordlessly telling him to hold on, before he got up and ran after the dog.

Inside the kennels, Tucker was groaning, straining as he tried to pass the first bit of shoe. Tony patted Captain’s head before he went inside with the beagle, coaxing him through it with gentle words. He didn’t even notice when Steve followed him into the room, but the sharp intake of breath did distract him.

“B-Bucky?”

Tony looked up with a frown to see Steve staring wide-eyed at Captain. Confused, Tony looked between his frozen dog and Steve, not sure what was going on. Either way, it was something that would need to be dealt with later; Tucker needed him now.

“Steve, go wait in my office.”

“But I-”

“ _ Please _ . Go.” Tony turned back to Tucker, though he heard Steve’s shuffling footsteps disappear back through the door. 

By the time Tucker was done with this round, Tony had another patient waiting for him. Captain wouldn’t leave his side, so he simply sighed and made him sit in the corner of the exam room as he looked over an older cat. Just a routine exam that was done shortly, but Captain kept by the door, eyes downturned as he let out soft whines.

“What’s gotten into you?” Tony asked, kneeling down to be at eye-level with the dog. “Is it Steve?” Captain whined again, pushing forward until he was pressed against Tony’s chest. “Oh, Captain, it’s okay. It’s okay, buddy.”

It wasn’t really okay.

\-----

“Shifter” wasn’t a word Tony was intimate with in regards to real-world issues. It was some kind of trope for a fantasy novel that Pepper liked to kick her heels off and read before bed. Someone being a shifter just wasn’t a real thing, not at all.

Steve Rogers stared right at Tony and told him different. “I’ve known Bucky my whole life. I’m the only one that knows all sides of him and this? This is him. Missing an arm, but it’s him.”

Tony looked down at the dog still pressed against his side. Captain kept quiet, staring at Steve with wide eyes and his mouth closed. The lack of smile made Tony nervous -- he wasn’t used to seeing Captain this  _ scared _ .

“I don’t know why he won’t just show you...”

“If it is him, maybe he doesn’t want to show me.” Tony sat down, scratching behind Captain’s ears. “Besides, what you’re telling me is crazy. Did S.H.I.E.L.D. give you a psych test? Did you pass it?”

“Stark--”

“It was nice to meet you, Captain Rogers, but I think you should go now.” Tony motioned toward the door. “I’m sure you can escort yourself out.”

Steve snapped his mouth shut and, after looking between Tony and the dog, he gave a sharp nod. “Forgive me for bothering you.”

They watched Steve leave, Tony’s hand never leaving from its spot behind Captain’s ears. And even though he  _ knew _ shifters weren’t real, something made Tony wonder. It would explain Captain’s age and other oddities, but he rather liked having a dog. Not a man.

\-----

Tony ignored Steve’s words for three days until he was curled up in bed, Captain resting at his side. He ran his fingers through the thick fur for a long while before letting out a sigh. Captain’s eyes opened and looked at him, curious.

“He was right, wasn’t he,” Tony said, voice soft. “Because if he isn’t, then there’s something else about you.”

Captain huffed, turning his head away from Tony.

“I don’t mind,” Tony continued. “If you want to stay a dog, you can stay a dog. I’m not going to say anything about it. I like having a fuzzy partner. Nothing has to change.”

Captain looked back to Tony, letting out a soft whine.

“Maybe we’d change your name, though. I think I’m over my hero-obsessed period.”

Captain’s tail wagged and he shuffled closer, pressing completely against Tony. Tony just laughed, pressing a kiss to Captain’s head as they settled in for bed.

\-----

James Buchanan Barnes showed himself to Tony a few days later. Just long enough to confirm Steve’s story and to correct his military rank. Tony renamed him “Sarge” and the newly-transformed dog gave out a bark and wagged his tail.

Tony never bothered to ask how he was still alive, and he refused to speak to Steve about it. As far as he was concerned, if Sarge wanted to connect with Steve, he would. But Tony also knew hiding and he knew that sometimes you just didn’t want to face the world.

So he let Sarge curl next to him at night and follow him around in the world. They were happy with what they had.

Nothing else mattered.


End file.
